WeiBo

The Chinese digital landscape can be a bit disconcerting at first. You won’t find many familiar faces there, no Google so no Google Plus and no Youtube but also no Facebook, no Twitter… Instead, expect a stream of similar search engines and not-so-similar social media services with a serious Chinese-style look and feel to them. Here are a few things to know to get acquainted with China’s digital landscape and to find your new favorite Chinese sites.

Still too many people outside of China are wondering whether or not to join Weibo, China’s number one micro-blogging site. Why? Probably because they’ve heard – and I had too – a lot of (false) things about Weibo. Accusing it of being just a Twitter-copy for instance… Wrong. Weibo is a lot more than that, than just a wall. One of my favorite feature is being able to chat with my followers and getting to know each other. What a great way to build a community.

Besides, Weibo is a fascinating source of information from the people living and shaping, China. This also makes it a great way to learn Chinese, straight from the source. Read on to get onboard and learn our favorite ways to effectively learn Chinese on Weibo!